Native English speakers’ investment in foreign language learning – what role do gender and socioeconomic status play?
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Date
01/07/2014Item status
Restricted AccessEmbargo end date
01/07/2019Author
Gayton, Angela Mary
Metadata
Abstract
Rhetoric about the ‘crisis’ state of language learning in predominantly Anglophone
countries is nothing new, given the widely-held belief about English having ‘global
lingua franca’ status. Similarly long-standing are notions of language learning being
a particularly gendered or classed activity, specifically, one that is perceived as being
appropriate for female, and middle-class, pupils.
This thesis explores the extent of the role played by notions of gender and class in
the formation of language-learning attitudes among native speakers of the ‘global’
language, through a mixed qualitative methodology. Providing some context to the
issue of language-learning attitudes in Scotland is textual analysis of news articles
and political party manifestos, to ascertain the nature of media reporting, and claimed
political commitment, to foreign language education. Against this background, case
studies of four urban secondary schools are built up, using textual analysis of their
publicly available promotional literature, classroom observation, and interviews with
pupils, classroom teachers and members of senior management. Schools were chosen
specifically to represent a range of socioeconomic backgrounds, as well as both
mixed- and single-sex environments, in order to probe the aforementioned
stereotyped notions attached to these two variables, as they relate to language-learning
attitudes.
Influencing the methodological approach is Norton’s (1995; 2000; 2008)
‘investment’ framework, which has pushed conceptualisations of language-learning
motivation forward beyond simple dichotomies, such as ‘integrative versus
instrumental’. I re-adapt her framework to better suit the specific context of native
speakers of the ‘global’ language embarking upon foreign, rather than second,
language learning.
This study makes a contribution to knowledge in three separate areas of research
literature, namely, language-learning attitudes and motivation among speakers of
English (which as yet has been little explored, at least in comparison to motivation
theories developed specifically for those learning English as an L2); the role of
gender in the formation of language-learning attitudes; and the role of socioeconomic
status in the same context, and also its influence on attitudes towards education more
generally. Among the key findings are the importance of placing an emphasis on
enjoyment of language learning for native English speakers, given the general lack of
imperative felt by most; gendered notions attached to different areas of the
curriculum, including modern foreign languages (for example, language learning is a
‘girlie’ subject), do exist, but are less pervasive than is suggested by much of the
previous literature; the role played by socioeconomic status, however, appears much
more influential, and teachers’ expectations of pupils in this regard can exercise a
significant impact on a child’s language-learning motivation.